Gardening by the Moon Weekend To-Do
An idea as old as agriculture, based both folklore and superstition but there are scientific ideas to back it up.
- Lunar Phase: New Moon on Friday, May 22
- Saturday-Monday: Moon in the sign of Pisces - Prune, water compost and fertilize
- Flowering trees are pruned after they finished flowering. You remove those branches close to one another, thin out the canopy and remove the crossing branches.
Later in the Week
- Monday through Thursday: Moon in the sign of Aries/Taurus - Harvest weed, control pests, and fertilize.
- A handheld cultivator is an ideal method of controlling weeds. They're available with a long or short handle. When cultivating around veggies, be careful as many are shallow-rooted and aggressive hoeing could damage them.
- .Keep Snails from climbing into the canopy of citrus and other shrubs by attaching Copper Tape to the trunk about two feet off the ground. The Copper will not kill the snails, but it will halt the forward progress.
Other Things To-do
- When planting a butterfly garden, be sure to include several rocks that have a flat surface. If possible, place the rocks, so they face east. In the morning, Butterflies need to be warmed up by the morning sun so they will rest on the rock and spread their wings. The wings act like a solar panel picking up heat from the sun as well as the heat off the rock.
- May is the month to plant watermelons, cantaloupe muskmelons and others. The key in growing good melons is lot of sun, at least six hours and a regular amount of water. The intake of moisture is what increases the size of the fruit, however, an over abundance of moisture will cause the melon to crack and rot